Cannon Falls, MN is new U.S. headquarters for Inge-Glas® of Germany

March 6, 2005
CANNON FALLS, Minnesota

This year Dorry Wallof, of Cannon Falls, celebrates 25 years in the giftware industry. Working through many phases of the wholesale giftware process, Dorry's passion for the business has paid off.

Under the name of Wallof Unlimited, she has maintained a showroom at the Minneapolis Gift Mart (Umaga) since 1996, representing several gift and home decor lines, which include handmade quilts, quilted jackets and bags, Christmas ornaments and other seasonal decor, manufactured through C&F Enterprises and Gallerie II. Dorry also represents the well-known German miniature angel line of Wendt & Kuhn, from the village of Grunhainichen. German distributor, KWO (Kunstgewerbe-Werkstaten Olbernhau) also offers highly sought-after handmade nutcrackers, smokers, music boxes, and pyramids, traditional folk art of the Erzgebirge Mountains.

Success has followed Dorry through her devotion to the giftware industry and in January of 2005 she opened her second showroom in Atlanta, the largest gift mart in the industry. This new showroom, however, is devoted to only one product line, Inge-Glas® of Germany. Dorry has partnered with this 400-year-old German family business and was recently named the Executive Vice President of Inge-Glas®, in charge of the company's North American operations, which includes the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

"Inge-Glas® has always enjoyed a huge following all over Europe and has been in the U.S. for over 30 years under other management," Dorry explains. "Klaus and Birgit Müller-Blech, the current generation of owners, have brought me in to take a fresh view of their U.S. operations. We are making a lot of structural changes, including having the products shipped to retailers direct from Germany."

Inge-Glas® has an impressive history, extending back to the late 1500s in the village of Lauscha, Germany where mouth glassblowing was a cottage industry. Every family had their own specialty and the Müller family was renown for their bird ornaments. Beginning in the 1860s the Müller family specifically customized their craft for creating Christmas ornaments. In 1951 the Russian occupation of Lauscha led 13th generation descendent Heinz Müller-Blech to flee to Neustadt, when in 1953 he and his wife Inge (from whom Inge-Glas® is named) reestablished what is now the modern day Inge-Glas® workshops. Heinz managed to smuggle several glassblowing moulds and after settling down in Neustadt he began to actively search for antique ornament moulds. His family in East Germany would send packages to him containing only halves of the moulds at a time so authorities would not confiscate them.

In the 1960s, Klaus Müller-Blech, 14th generation descendent, spent countless hours in the glass workshops of his parents to learn the profession. Klaus traveled to the U.S. in 1992 to attend the Golden Glow of Christmas Past Convention and to search for antique ornaments. Here he met his future wife, Birgit Eichhorn-Jeremias-Sohn, also from a family of glassblowers in Neustadt, Germany. The two lived in the same village in Germany and had never met until the U.S. convention! When the couple married their families combined their glassblowing operations and antique mould collections. The Müller-Blech family is now reintroducing ornaments made from some of the 6,000 antique moulds their families passed down through the generations. Not all moulds are Christmas oriented.  A large portion of the line has year-round appeal for collectors.

The Müller-Blech family and residents of Neustadt established the Historic German Christmas Museum in 2001 which is dedicated to old world European Christmases and the historic transition of Christmas celebrations from past to present. The museum features valuable collections of rare Christmas decorations, along with the Guinness Book of World Records' recorded largest collection of antique tree stands. Photographs describe many traditions depicted throughout the museum, including the history of the Müller-Blech family and laborious process of creating glass blown, hand painted ornaments. Dorry travels to Neustadt, Germany several times a year to visit the Inge-Glas® workshop, to develop new product lines and marketing programs, and to set future projections for Inge-Glas® in the American market.

"What the story of the the Müller-Blech family and their glassblowing history represents is their passion for tradition," Dorry explains. "People who own Inge-Glas® mouth-blown, handpainted glass ornaments and know their individual histories cherish them as family heirlooms. Many people have handblown glass treasures among their Christmas ornaments and don't always realize what a piece of art they possess. The distinctive trademark of Inge-Glas® is the exclusive Five-Star Crown Cap on each piece. Once people are educated to the intensive process it takes to mouth-blow and handpaint each ornament, they realize how important the tradition is. It's natural for grandparents and parents to want to pass these heirloom quality ornaments to future generations to become a part of their Christmas tradition as well." Dorry continues, "In the case of Inge-Glas®, people also appreciate the history of the family � 400 years of a family dedication to glassblowing is a heritage to be proud of. And I'm very proud to have become a part of the Inge-Glas® North American family tree."

The Wallof Unlimited and the North American Inge-Glas® office is currently located in Cannon Falls, MN. Further information can be found by calling 800-967-2066 or emailing northamericansales@inge-glas.com.